Ryeland railway station
The site of the station and goods yard
General information
LocationRyeland, South Lanarkshire
Scotland
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyDarvel and Strathaven Railway
Pre-groupingGlasgow and South Western Railway Caledonian Railway
Key dates
1 May 1905opened
January 1917closed
December 1922reopened
11 September 1939Officially closed to passengers and goods

Ryeland (NS 65545 40364) was a railway station on the Darvel and Strathaven Railway serving Caldermill and the surrounding rural area in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

History

A view from the overbridge looking towards Drumclog.

On 4 July 1905 the line opened, thereby connecting the Darvel Branch that ran from Kilmarnock, resulting in the line becoming a through route to Strathaven which was a line jointly run between the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) and the Caledonian Railway (CR). The CR owned the Loudounhill to Strathaven section and the G&SWR owned the section from Loudounhill to Darvel and beyond[1]

Despite being a through route, no trains ran between Kilmarnock and Strathaven;[2] instead, the two companies took it in turns to run the line between Darvel and Strathaven every six months.[2] Stations were also located at Drumclog and Loudounhill. The line was never successful and closed in 1939 and the track lifted in 1951.[1]

The station had a signal box on the platform and a wooden waiting room and ticket office. The station had an island platform and steps from the overbridge gave passengers access. Several sidings with a large goods shed were present. Ryelands Creamery was located nearby.[3] The goods shed and creamery building were still present in 2012.

The nominal junction between the Caledonian Railway and the Glasgow and South Western Railway was at the county boundary at Loudounhill Station. The closed line was used to store hundreds of damaged railway waggons that were awaiting repair.[4]

The line had been intended as a through route between Lanarkshire and Ayrshire, however there was very little traffic along the route as the population in the area was very low. The station was closed from September until November 1909 and then again from January 1917 until December 1922. As stated, the last train ran on 10 September 1939, however the official closing date was two weeks later.[5]

Darvel and Strathaven Railway
Up arrow Darvel Branch
 Loudounhill
County Boundary Junction
 Drumclog
 Ryeland
 Strathaven Central
Left arrow Mid Lanarks Lines
Down arrow Hamilton and Strathaven Railway

Other stations

References

old track formation looking towards Ryeland.
Notes
  1. 1 2 Wham, page 47
  2. 1 2 Stansfield, page 20
  3. ↑ 25in OS Map Retrieved : 2012-09-12
  4. ↑ Sellar
  5. ↑ Stansfield, Page 32
Sources
  • Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
  • Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
  • Sellar, W.S. & Stevenston, J. L. (1981). The Last Trains. (3) South-West Scotland. Edinburgh : Moorfoot Publishing. ISBN 0-906606-03-9.
  • Stansfield, Gordon (1997). Lanarkshire's Lost Railways. Ochiltree : Stenlake. ISBN 978-1-872074-96-2.
  • Stansfield, Gordon (1999). Ayrshire & Renfrewshire's Lost Railways. Ochiltree : Stenlake. ISBN 1-84033-077-5.
  • Thomas, John (1971). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. V.6, Scotland. David & Charles : Newton Abbot. ISBN 0-7153-5408-6.

Previous and next stations

Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Strathaven Central   Glasgow and South Western Railway / Caledonian Railway
Darvel and Strathaven Railway		   Drumclog
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55°38′18″N 4°08′15″W / 55.6383°N 4.1374°W / 55.6383; -4.1374

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